Enterprises such as corporations, small businesses, government bodies, and other organizations using computer networks, currently utilize the public telecommunications infrastructure to form virtual private networks (VPN). A VPN is a private data network that allows an enterprise to provide connectivity amongst multiple sites, while maintaining privacy using a tunneling protocol and security procedures. The VPN gives the enterprise similar capabilities at a much lower cost by using a shared public infrastructure instead of a private infrastructure.
Currently, the VPN is limited to users within an enterprise organization. Specifically, tunneling protocols (e.g., point-to-point tunneling protocol (PPTP), layer two tunneling protocol (L2TP), and the like) allow the enterprise to extend their own network through private “tunnels” over the public internet. In effect a corporation uses a wide-area network (WAN) as a single large local area network (LAN). Accordingly, enterprise no longer needs to lease its own lines for wide-area communications, but can securely use the public networks. As such, any user of an access device (e.g., personal computer (PC), laptop, personal digital assistant (PDA), and the like) having point-to-point protocol client support is able to use an independent service provider to connect securely to a server elsewhere in the user's enterprise organization.
However, there is currently no capability to provide VPN connectivity to individuals outside an enterprise environment. For example, the general consumer, who is not affiliated with an enterprise, does not have the ability to communicate with others similarly situated using virtual private networks over the present public infrastructure (i.e., the internet). Multiparty conferencing and bridging of friends-and-family are services that are used to communicate among a group of members to disseminate information. These activities are generally carried over plain old telephone service (POTS) services, since a secure group communication mechanism over the Internet is not available. Accordingly, a method and apparatus for enabling peer-to-peer virtual private network services in a VPN-enabled network is desirable.